One more update for anyone still reading along. (Hi nstewart!)
I was hanging out with Dh today while he ran work errands in his work truck and happened to look in the back seat and there was a brand new book called, "How to be your own 'doctor'". It is a home remedy/herbal guide for families. I asked him where he got that and I guess it was suppose to be a surprise for me for Christmas.
Looks like we are headed in the same direction!! It was very encouraging! 
So glad your DH is on board with you BaileyB.
I'm just waiting for my urine strips, BPcuff and Fetoscope to arrive. I ordered them last week on Amazon. DH and I argeed to not use the doppler. I'm not comfortable with the sound waves issue and he has agreed to learn to master the fetoscope for heart rate checks instead. I'll probably do the urine strips and BP checks weekly, since I get so many strips in a pack AND they expire quite quickly. I'll be keeping a written record of everything, so then nobody can say I'm not getting prenatal care.
MIL asked when I was getting my u/s and I just said we weren't getting one this time. Fortunately she doesn't visit very often, so she won't be finding out about the UP/UC at all. She'd just get really worried about everything that could go wrong, and I won't let her fears and paranoia ruin my plans.
Bumping this thread for Judy, and updating on my own journey.
Looks like at least the UP part is out for us. I got a bad rash last week that looked like it might be Chicken Pox so went to urgent care. The dr there couldn't tell so he sent me to a dermatologist. Its not CP, but the dermatologist thinks its a photosensitive rash, and strongly suspects that Lupus may be the cause. I've been given some meds for immediate treatment, but now I'm going to have to get checked out to make sure the baby is OK, as they are not completely safe drugs (just safest they could give me.) I probably won't know the results from all the blood tests etc for a few weeks, but IF it is positive ( I currently have 3 of the required signs and the blood tests would be the 4th one they would need for a positive diagnosis) then I'll have to be seen by a perinatologist as Lupus would put me at high risk (baby can be born with it if its active during pregnancy) and then I'd have to have a hospital birth.
So for now our UP/UC is a bit up in the air.
We are planning to UP/UC with this one. We are possibly having multiples though, so it may change if we feel we need someone there, though I think I would still be comfortable having a UC with twins. We might invite someone else (friend/family) to have an extra pair of hands during the birth, but then again, maybe not. We are anxiously waiting for some kind of confirmation on our suspicion of multiples- whether it's movements, heart tones with the fetoscope or an ultrasound- if we decide to get one. We are casually planning an ultrasound for the end of January, around 25 weeks. Not certain that we'll get one but I would kind of like to have confirmation on how many babies/placentas/bags of water to be expecting during the birth. Encouraged to see others planning to UP/UC as well!
Before buying a doppler for home use, I would encourage anyone to check out the resources on Doppler Danger on Facebook and to watch this clip I found the other day- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8szqgtX_GQ&feature=share (the clip was put out almost 20 years ago already!!) We're all almost to the point where we can hear our babies with fetoscopes. Fetoscopes don't put out any kind of radiation, unlike dopplers. There's tons of information out there that indicates that ultrasound radiation may not be as safe as we are led to think, so why take the chance when there's a completely safe option out there? Just saying :) The graphics in the video are truly eye-opening.
keeping an eye on this thread as we may be losing our health coverage early next year...
Hi everyone! I started a new thread, not seeing this one, but I'm sure it'd be easier for everyone if I just kept things here. 
Bailey replied this to my other thread, but I'm moving it here for the sake of ease...
Hi Judy! I am so far UP-ing and possibly UC-ing. I am taking it more one day at a time. This is pregnancy #4 for me, with 1 full term stillborn born at hospital/induction, one full term living almost 2 year old (hospital/induction), and then I had a really early m/c last May, and now due this coming May. I am 19.5 weeks. This is my first time without an OB and I have never had a midwife. I just had a strong urge to be left alone this pregnancy and I had been looking into UC before getting pregnant with my m/c baby. I actually wouldn't mind delivering in our hospital because they have great staff, etc but if I feel like they will go bonkers when I come in in labor and haven't had official prenatal care since 9 weeks I will just stay at home. I don't really feel like having an IV, or being given antibiotics for any possible GBS, and I don't feel like being in labor and having to force them to not give me those things.
I was induced with my first baby because of finding no heartbeat and I was induced with my second because they/I were jumpy about going too late since they never found a cause of the first stillborn (they highly suspected a cord accident though).
When are you due?
Hi Bailey (and everyone)! Nice to "meet" you and get to chat some. For those who didn't see my other thread, we're expecting baby #5 towards the end of May. (May 25th is our "estimated due date") All 4 big siblings have been born at home with midwives. We've recently moved, so we no longer have our midwives and feel a great peace about going this one solo.
As far as prenatals, I've had 2 ultrasounds already - one at 6.5 weeks to gauge an accurate due date (only because we're planning a trip out of town and wanted to know what to expect), and one at 14.5 weeks because of some unexplainable bleeding (ended up not being a problem, and has since fully resolved). We're also getting a quick (15 min) gender check later this week, which I'm excited about! I struggled with bonding with my last baby because we didn't find out the gender and I had a lot of anxiety over the unknown. For me, this is just a better option. I saw a midwife for 2 visits before she "fired" me because I was asking about whether she was willing to basically be a "back-up" in the event of us no longer feeling comfortable about UCing. Apparently that was a bad question to ask. 
I'm going to be ordering a fetoscope and doing minor prenatal checks. My last midwife didn't use the urine strips, so I probably won't either. Never once had the slightest problem with any of the things it checks. I'll check fetal heart tones, weight gain, fundal height, and occasional blood pressure at the local drugstore. Never had the slightest hiccup in my BP either, and it becomes less common with each healthy pregnancy.
My DH is becoming more comfortable with the idea, as long as we're well prepared. He also wants to have a Doppler handy, so we'll probably rent one for the birth only. Working on making a list of supplies to collect, mainly emergency herbs/tinctures (like angelica and shepherd's purse) and manual stuff like something for suctioning baby, cord stuff, etc.
I'm a certified childbirth educator, breastfeeding peer counselor, and total birth/baby junkie. I read voraciously, and have already read Hearts & Hands cover-to-cover more than once. Reading it again and highlighting important stuff, tabbing pages, and working on a cheat-sheet for labor.
Anyway, nice to meet you all! Gotta get to bed now, but I'll be around!
- Judy
So far I haven't had any prenatal care with this one. We've been patiently waiting until 20 weeks to start trying to use the fetal stethoscope.
I'm really hoping and praying I can get away with just a quick check on the baby in a couple of weeks to make sure the drugs I've had this past week haven't done any harm, then get back to my UP/UC freebirth journey. Its been so wonderful to not be checked and prodded so far, and I've never had OB prenatal care and really don't want to end up down that route. I'm almost at the "holding my breath" point waiting to see what my test results bring, so that we can make a decision on how to move forward.
I think I paid around $20 for my fetoscope... most of them will work well, you just need to practice with them because it's not as easy to hear as with a doppler (though it's 100% safe, unlike the doppler). You can find them on amazon.com, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/MABIS-Healthcare-Fetal-Stethoscope-Black/dp/B001CCGY64/ref=pd_sim_hpc_2 I wouldn't personally bother with the $50 ones. It varies from person to person on when you can hear baby, but the earliest I've heard is 16 weeks, though more commonly it's not until 20-22 weeks that you can hear baby's heart beat.
Trisha, that looks like the same one we've bought. We haven't tried it yet as we were waiting to get to 20 weeks, and I'm just shy of 19 weeks right now.
Trisha, that looks like the same one we've bought. We haven't tried it yet as we were waiting to get to 20 weeks, and I'm just shy of 19 weeks right now.
That's probably a good idea! I've been listening a couple times each week since about 15 weeks hoping to get lucky and nothing yet. I'm 18 wks tomorrow. I'm becoming very intimately familiar with my intestines though! lol 
It does help sometimes though, to help me distinguish between digestion and baby movements- they're still very similar for me!
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Hi! Jumping over from the later part of the April DDC. This will be my 3rd UC but we switched from a pretty medical scenario in the beginning this time. Because my last pregnancy was an undiagnosed ectopic (resulting in a pretty dramatic emergency surgery experience and the loss of my tube), I had no hesitations about getting in for an ultrasound early on. We had also just recently diagnosed my Hashimoto's, and were trying to monitor that to make sure my body didn't attack my baby. So I started out with an OB, 2 ultrasounds, lots of bloodwork, etc. Stopped going into my 2nd trimester...just never went back. I had tried to reconcile the possibility of making a hospital birth work, or doing an accident UC, but neither one sat well with me. Now I'm just back to doing my own prenatals, getting my thyroid bloodwork done occasionally, and we will have a late u/s, as we do with each of our UC's.
As for dopplers, I use one. I certainly know there are risks, but then again, my history has changed my comfort level with things. It's not the same as it used to be for me anymore, and I welcome what a doppler can provide for me.
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